The Department of Homeland Security has asked department personnel to volunteer on the United States’ southern border with Mexico to help combat an “overwhelming” amount of migrants trying to enter the U.S.
“Today, I activated the Volunteer Force to support Customs and Border Protection (CBP) as they face a surge in migration along the Southwest Border,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in an email obtained by Fox News.
The email to DHS staff continued, “You have likely seen the news about the overwhelming numbers of migrants seeking access to this country along the Southwest Border. President Biden and I are committed to ensuring our Nation has a safe, orderly, and humane immigration system while continuing to balance all of the other critical DHS missions.”
The volunteers will be tasked with managing property, preparing meals, retrieving supplies and prescription medicine, housekeeping and assisting in control rooms, among other duties. Volunteers will not be used for law enforcement.
According to Mayorkas, the agency has used the volunteer force since 2019.
“In 2019, over 900 volunteers deployed to support their CBP colleagues during a similar migration surge,” Mayorkas said. “Please consider joining the Volunteer Force to again provide needed humanitarian support along the Southwest Border and relief for our CBP colleagues.”
Activating the Volunteer Force is the latest move by the Biden Administration that signals it is preparing for an immigrant crisis similar to two years ago, when more than 140,000 arrests were made per month at its peak.
President Joe Biden and his administration have refused to classify the situation on the border as a “crisis.”
When a reporter asked Biden if there was a crisis at the border, the president responded, “No, we’ll be able to handle it.”
Biden also told reporters he learned “a lot” after receiving a briefing about the border.
Last week, a large group of migrants were seen at the U.S.-Mexico border south of California wearing T-shirts that featured President Joe Biden’s campaign logo along with the words, “PLEASE LET US IN!”
Both former President Donald Trump and Texas Governor Greg Abbott have condemned Biden’s approach to border security. Abbott deployed the National Guard over the weekend to assist state law enforcement with what he called a “crisis” at the border, and criticized Biden’s administration for “escalating” the situation.
“The crisis at our southern border continues to escalate because of Biden Administration policies that refuse to secure the border and invite illegal immigration,” Abbott’s statement read, as KFOX14 reported. “Texas supports legal immigration but will not be an accomplice to the open border policies that cause, rather than prevent, a humanitarian crisis in our state and endanger the lives of Texans. We will surge the resources and law enforcement personnel needed to confront this crisis.”
